45-70 Performance

[MBaneACP]

Not to beat a long-dead wildebeest, as it were, but I wanted to note that we had excellent performance on buffalo in SA with the Buffalo Bore 430-gr 45-70 “Magnums” out of Marlin lever guns. There were 4 of us running that load against buff (Ft Richmond Safaris doing the heavy lifting) and all of us were happy with the performance of the load. Wouldn’t hesitate to use it again.

Michael B

 

[IdaRam]

Pics or it never happened! Just kidding, but a hunt report with plenty of pictures would be great! I am sure it would be a unique an exciting read. Lever guns and Buff sounds exciting.
And thanks for the report on the Buffalo Bores. If you recovered any bullets it would be great to see some pics of those too.

 

[Ray B]

A friend has used a Ruger #3 45-70 with loads well above the cartridge's intended ballistics and has been quite happy with it. He considers it his 458 Un-magnum, but (that I am aware of) he has not been to Africa with it.

 

[CTDolan]

This is probably the image which would apply:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BklPUddHGsT/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=slbkxz1c1bs5

Crossed my IG feed this morning...

 

[CTDolan]

 

[jeanes]

Has anyone tried the Henry single shot in .45/70?

 

[sgt_zim]

anybody have any idea what powder buffalo bore is using to get 1900 fps out of a 430 gr bullet? I could probably get 1750 out of 425 gr BTB PDJs , but I'd be afraid to go any higher than that. and honestly, i'm quite happy at 1500 fps with them. recoil, even at that low speed, is abusive.

i have no idea how they stay under 40,000 psi with that bullet at that velocity.

 

[IdaRam]

anybody have any idea what powder buffalo bore is using to get 1900 fps out of a 430 gr bullet? I could probably get 1750 out of 425 gr BTB PDJs , but I'd be afraid to go any higher than that. and honestly, i'm quite happy at 1500 fps with them. recoil, even at that low speed, is abusive.

i have no idea how they stay under 40,000 psi with that bullet at that velocity.

@sgt_zim , this is strictly a guess on my part but I suspect it may be AA2230 powder. That seems to be the “go to” powder in both the .45-70 and .458 Win Mag.
Accurate’s website shows several loads with AA2230 and 420 gr bullets that are right in that 1900 fps range and between 37,000 and 40,000 psi.
I have several friends that shoot .45-70’s and that is what they use. I don’t have a .45-70, but AA2230 out performs everything else in my .458 Win Mag. Those big straight wall .45’s really like the stuff. I’m pushing 500 gr solids in the WM at 2150 and very moderate pressures. I have run them all the way up to 2250 fps with no issues. That is from a 20” barrel.
Alliant RL-10X also works very well in the WM. Either of those powders would get there I bet.

 

[Old Salt]

Cool! I've been considering taking my guide gun on my next safari. Did you take any other ammo for plains game??

 

[Dr Ray]

I would have thought that the 45/70 with heavy for caliber would lack the crunch.
The 300 grain bullet can be driven much faster and it has more energy than the 400 grain + Bullet.

 

[sgt_zim]

@sgt_zim , this is strictly a guess on my part but I suspect it may be AA2230 powder. That seems to be the “go to” powder in both the .45-70 and .458 Win Mag.
Accurate’s website shows several loads with AA2230 and 420 gr bullets that are right in that 1900 fps range and between 37,000 and 40,000 psi.
I have several friends that shoot .45-70’s and that is what they use. I don’t have a .45-70, but AA2230 out performs everything else in my .458 Win Mag. Those big straight wall .45’s really like the stuff. I’m pushing 500 gr solids in the WM at 2150 and very moderate pressures. I have run them all the way up to 2250 fps with no issues. That is from a 20” barrel.
Alliant RL-10X also works very well in the WM. Either of those powders would get there I bet.

I've been using RL-7 to get what I'm getting.

Looks like with the BTB 425s, max powder load should be between 47.5 gr and 50.2 gr of AA-2230. I may have to give that a go. As much as I like the performance and accuracy I'm getting out of Beartooth Bullets, their lead times are bloody awful. Cast Performance has 420s and 460s in WLNGC for about the same price as Beartooth.

 

[BenKK]

I love reading stuff like this. Lots of guys disparage certain rifles / cartridges, but other guys simply go out and get the job done. Have a safety plan, of course, but have an adventure with a rifle you love. Choosing the situation helps, too.

 

[sgt_zim]

I would have thought that the 45/70 with heavy for caliber would lack the crunch.
The 300 grain bullet can be driven much faster and it has more energy than the 400 grain + Bullet.

Most of the "light" 45-70 bullets are thin-jacketed, at least if you're shooting jacketed.

Hardcast lead of 405-540 grains will generally out-penetrate all jacketed bullets of the same weight and diameter, except FMJ. Buffalobore says 5-6 ft of straight-line penetration with the bullets used in the OP. They don't offer any semi-jacketed bullets which will penetrate like that.

 

[sgt_zim]

Not to beat a long-dead wildebeest, as it were, but I wanted to note that we had excellent performance on buffalo in SA with the Buffalo Bore 430-gr 45-70 “Magnums” out of Marlin lever guns. There were 4 of us running that load against buff (Ft Richmond Safaris doing the heavy lifting) and all of us were happy with the performance of the load. Wouldn’t hesitate to use it again.

Michael B

Just curious - why did you guys choose Buffalo Bore over Garret Cartridges?

 

[sgt_zim]

@MBaneACP - i just received a long over-due order of 525 gr Beartooth bullets

all the way to the right:
all the way to the left is a .308, then a 9.3...just for comparison

 

[ChrisG]

anybody have any idea what powder buffalo bore is using to get 1900 fps out of a 430 gr bullet? I could probably get 1750 out of 425 gr BTB PDJs , but I'd be afraid to go any higher than that. and honestly, i'm quite happy at 1500 fps with them. recoil, even at that low speed, is abusive.

i have no idea how they stay under 40,000 psi with that bullet at that velocity.

It is very possibly a canister grade powder which has been optimized for burn rate and pressure curve to max out the "area under the curve" for a .45/70. Using piezo strain gauges they get a plot of pressure and then, if you re going to load 1,000,000 of them, you could contact a chemical compmany like olin or hodgdon and ask if they have a powder that will maximize the power (or work) output of the powder in a given period of time while not exceeding a maximum peak pressure.

 

[meigsbucks]

I have a Ruger #3 in .45/70. I crank out 350gr Hornady’s at 2154 FPS. It terminates game with extreme prejudice.
I've also tried a 350gr Barnes TSX, however it gives minimal expansion at that velocity.

 

[crs]

With my 1895 .405 WCF long straight case, VV N133 gave significantly (10-12 K psi ) less peak pressure than some other powders I used and it has become my go to powder for .405 , .45-70, 45-90 loads.
This is especially good in my .405 and 45-70 double rifles which were both regulated with 300 grain bullets. For heavier bullets, I can load them to regulate at low pressures.

My only point is that though 2230 is a proven performer in the same cartridges AND the .458 Win Mag, there may be other powders worth trying.

 

[edward]

Most of the "light" 45-70 bullets are thin-jacketed, at least if you're shooting jacketed.

Hardcast lead of 405-540 grains will generally out-penetrate all jacketed bullets of the same weight and diameter, except FMJ. Buffalobore says 5-6 ft of straight-line penetration with the bullets used in the OP. They don't offer any semi-jacketed bullets which will penetrate like that.

corbon penetrators,405 gr solids.

 

[Von S.]

Edward,

I got to listen to a man who has dropped an elephant with a hand cannon as that in itself is an accomplishment of a lifetime.